| 44th Rifle Division 44th Mountain-Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
 Soldiers and officers of the 44thKievan Rifle Division, an elite unit of theUkrainian SSR[1] | |
| Active | 1918–1957 |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | .svg) Red Army (1918-1946) Soviet Army (1946-1957) |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Nickname | 44th Kievskaya |
| Engagements | Ukrainian-Soviet War |
| Decorations | Order of Red Banner (1928) |
| Battle honours | Shchors Kievskaya (1920) |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Alexei Vinogradov |
The44thKievskaya of the Red Banner Rifle Division ofNikolay Shchors, or44th Kievskaya for short, was an elite military formation of theSoviet Union. Created during the beginnings of theRussian Civil War. It was destroyed during theWinter War, after being ordered to help the163rd Rifle Division break aFinnish siege on the Raate road as part of the Special Rifle Corps9th Army, together with the 54th Rifle Division. Afterwards it was levied and dissolved multiple times throughout the 40s and 50s until its final dissolution in 1959.[2]
The unit is also famous for being one of the first military formations out of which was formed the short-livedUkrainian Soviet Army (November 30, 1918 – June 1, 1919). It was formed by the order no.6 of theCommunist Party (Bolshevik) of Ukraine on September 22, 1918, as the1st Insurgent Division along with the2nd Insurgent Division. The 1st Insurgent Division was formed out of insurgent squads of Tarashcha and Novgorod-Sieverskyuyezds. The chief of division (nachdiv) was appointed N.Krapivyansky and the chief of staff S.Petrikovsky (Petrenko).
By the end of September, the Division grew to 6700 bayonets, 450 sabers, 14 [artillery] guns, and from 10 to 18machine guns "Maxim", 5 to 6Colt, 20 to 30Lewis. Because of that, selected regiments were reorganized into brigades. However, the name for the units were nominal as the brigade's headquarters were never formed, and functions ofkombrigs were performed by the regimental commanders (colonel).
Around that time at the divisional headquarters a security company was formed out of some 700 soldiers. That new unit was planned to be transformed into the 5th Regiment and used as a reserve. Also the 4th Insurgent Regiment was recommissioned as the 6th Insurgent Regiment (commander T.Chernyak) and along with the 1st Regiment of Red Cossacks was soon transferred to the 2nd Insurgent Division. In their places, were created the 3rd Insurgent Regiment, later called Novgorod-Sieversky (T.Chernyak) and the 4th Insurgent Nezhyn Regiment (P.Nesmeyan) transformed out the security company.
During the preparations for an assault onKharkiv most of the division, however, refused to obey orders except for the Red Cossacks and the 4th Insurgent Nezhyn Regiment. For that the divisional commander N.Krapivyansky was dismissed andcourt martialed. I Lokatosh was appointed the new chief of division and I. Panafidin thepolitical commissar. The name of the division also changed to theSpecial Insurgent Division (order of Military Council of Kursk direction group of forces of November 21, 1918) as well as its formation consisting of now only two brigades:
The 44th Rifle Division, part of the12th Army, was formed from units of the1st Ukrainian Soviet Army by a 16 June 1919 order. Reorganized as the 44th Border Rifle Division on 5 August when it absorbed the 3rd Border Division, it merged with the 1st Ukrainian Soviet Division to become the 44th Rifle Division on 16 August.[3]
The 44th Rifle Division participated in theSoviet invasion of Poland in autumn 1939. Later, during the Finno-RussianWinter War, the division was sent to the Finnish front as reinforcement for the Soviet163rd Rifle Division which had attempted to advance into central Finland and become surrounded after capturing the town ofSuomussalmi and was suffering heavy casualties.[4] The 163rd Division, which was running short of food, was almost completely annihilated in combat with theFinnish 9th Infantry Division (Winter War)[fi] before the 44th Rifle Division could reach its position. With no ski troops, the 44th Rifle Division was completely road bound in the deep snow. The Finns, mounted on skis, and carrying superior arms, primarilyKP-31 submachine guns were able to break the route of march of the 44th Division on the road leading to Suomussalmi. By breaking the division into pieces along the road, after Finnish radio intelligence had confirmed that the whole division had entered the Raate road,[5] the Finns were able to annihilate the entire unit. According to Robert Edwards, the division's Commander A. Vinogradev managed to escape, but later, on the orders ofStalin's emissary,Lev Mekhlis, he was shot for incompetence following a sham trial. Of the 44th Division's 17,000 troops, 1,000 were captured and 700 escaped. The rest died.[4]
Other records suggest that Commander (kombrig)Alexei Vinogradov was sentenced in January 1940 to the Highest Degree of Punishment (VMN) by the Military Tribunal of the 9th Army.[6] along with his chief of staff Onufri Volkov.[7] On January 11, he was publicly executed in front of formation.
In March 1940, the division was again redeployed to Ukraine and in June was incorporated into the49th Rifle Corps of the5th Army of theSouthern Front. It saw no combat during theSoviet seizure and annexation of Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia.
On April 24, 1941, according to the resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) and theCouncil of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union (SNK) of April 23, 1941 No. 1112-459ss, the 44th Rifle Division was reformed into a mountain rifle formation with the abandonment of the previous insignia.
It participated in the Great Patriotic War as the 44th Kiev Red Banner Mining Division named after Schors. It was part of13th Rifle Corps,12th Army,Kiev Special Military District in June 1941.[8]
"Captured Soviet Generals" says that the division commander, Major General S.A. Tkachenko, was captured by the Germans. The division was immediately caught up in conflict and suffered heavy losses. By 21 July 1941 the division was already short ofshtat (establishment orTable of Organization and Equipment) by over 4,000 soldiers, 199 cargo trucks, and over 3,000 rifles and carbines. Divisional morale fell despite some small victories. Ultimately the division was wiped out in combat in theBattle of Uman near the village of Podvyskoe in the Kirovograd andUman region.[9]
The division was recreated at Leningrad in October 1941. It fought in northern Russia and Kurland with the54th Army ofVolkhov Front in January 1944 and the67th Army of theLeningrad Front in May 1945.
It was briefly reactivated after the war from 1955[10] atUralsk inUralsk Oblast, from the270th Rifle Division. It was redesignated the 44th Motor Rifle Division on 4 June 1957.[11] In January 1958 it became part of theTurkestan Military District with the dissolution of theSouth Ural Military District.[12] The division disbanded on 1 March 1959. Its 118th and 126th Motor Rifle Regiments transferred to the43rd Motor Rifle Division.[13]
In July 1960 the number "44" was again adapted for an active formation with the formation of the44th Training Airborne Division.
On July 8, 1939:
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